Streak of hopes
by Latihanmenulis
Summary: Irina's attempt to bring Rush back Post game
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: All the characters and the Last Remnant belong to Square Enix. There is no copyright infringement intended. This story is written without any purpose to make any profit/money or take any credit, just a hope that the readers would have as much fun as I had while writing it.

I want to say great thanks, for my beta-reader, tutor, and inspiration, Sorceress Nadira. She is everything for this story! Without her, this story would never happen.

Comments are highly welcomed, I really need some feedback or encouragement. Anyway, thank you for reading!

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Streak of Hopes

David Nassau felt the breeze stroke his blonde hair. It was calm on the seaside of Fornstrand. So peaceful. The vicious crabs, armorshells, seemed nowhere to be seen.

The weather in Fornstrand is known to change every few decades from calm to stormy and so on, as the cycle goes. At the moment, the sky was clear and the sea looked calm. But unlike the calm Starry Shore of Fornstrand, David's head was in such a turmoil, as if it was messed with by a giant storm. But as a lord of Athlum, he had to maintain his composure, the image of poised and cool-headed young master, who he always tried to be in front of everyone.

The Conqueror was gone and so was Rush. The most energetic youth David had ever known. Although the fear of collapses might have had disappeared, the storm basically wasn't over yet. The struggle to keep the peace of the world seemed never ending… or could he really achieve that luxurious dream? At least in his very own land of Athlum, he was very concerned about.

After all remnants have vanished, the beastmen were most likely to attack anytime. They were getting stronger, it seemed; or were that the Athlumian soldiers and especially himself were getting weaker? Without the Gae Bolg, battles were getting harder and harder. Now they had reached the point where his confidence was consumed and he felt desperately exhausted after all the battles. The people of Athlum had to pay higher taxes for the army. Without the increase of income it was really difficult to oblige. Due to security reasons, the trade in Athlum was troubled. He knew that in times like these it was unwise to raise the taxes, but how could the Athlumian soldiers even survive the battles without appropriate weapons and armors? The price of those blades and shields increased, also due to security reasons - the traders were afraid of traveling to Athlum. Also without the presence of remnant teleporters, it was a really long and hard trip to travel back and forth. They lost an important means of transportation.

Under these circumstances it was also hard to keep the peace in Athlum herself. Terrors also happened within the city. Some groups of citizens just could not take it anymore and they protested. Even the so-called Syndicate members got it wrong. Though his most trusted sovanis, Torgal and Allan, had already taken care of it, the thought of making his people suffer just kept creeping over him. Did the efforts he made in the battles were really for the glory of Athlum? What use he had of the "glory of Athlum", if he couldn't make his people prosper?

Suddenly the hollow void grew bigger and bigger in his heart. Was he really fit to be a Lord? He felt that words of Lord Qubine from Celapaleis were right. That sometimes it is difficult to make decisions on your own. If Athlum was still a principality of Celapaleis, supposedly the Celapalean army would provide help by now. But being only the neighbouring country, Celapaleis could not help. They had their own internal conflicts, as aristocrats began to rebel against the ruling government.

Just like in old times, when he was much younger in age, David sought comfort in the beautiful Starry Shore of Fornstrand, watching the water sparkling in the sunlight. The cries of eagle-like avians with lion tail, hraevelgs, could be heard from afar. There he had used to meet with a girl, who had always believed in him. He used to share the burdens he bore on his shoulders with the girl amidst the comforting sound of waves and vast blue sea. Afterwards, he could always find the strength to move on, he could find his confidence. He could always find those in the gleam of her eyes and her faith.

No matter how bad he had longed for her, he could never see her again. He had failed to save her, because he couldn't use the Gae Bolg freely when the attack had happened. He had failed. He had also failed to save Emma, his skilled General, who had been caring for him like his own mother, when his true mother and father had passed away. He had lost Rush. He had lost people, who were very dear to him. The wailing in his heart now was unbearable.

David touched his right eye, as if to feel the part of Gae Bolg which used to be attached to him. Something he used to think of as a burden, but now wanted back so badly. He raised his arm straight, as if he were to target and shot enemies with his ex-machina.

_Gae Bolg, I call upon thee._Nothing happened. He looked up at the sky, just to hear the cries of hraevelgs tearing the Fornstrand sky.

In this very situation, without Gae Bolg, how can he keep Athlum safe? The question perturbed him like a nightmare.

While looking down towards the Cape of Delusion, he dragged his rapier and watched armorshells creeping aside. _Nothing bad can happen to Athlum if you're in charge_. It was what she has said. Then he smiled to the memory with the same wry smile he made as the girl spoke those words. But eventually what she said came true. Athlum had gained independence.

His eyes followed the armorshells and he felt a sudden thrill when his gaze met a shape of a mitra girl standing nearby with her back turned to him. Exactly at the very spot the girl he had used to meet with has usually waited for him. It was exactly the same figure. Her figure, still vividly burned in his memory from five years ago when he was about sixteen years old. He was really sure that it was her and that he was unlikely to be wrong.

'It cannot be... It cannot be her. She… she… Could it be?'

His heart pounded fast. It was like something was blooming inside his chest. A pleasant feeling escaped his heart and brought a smile on his face like a rainbow after the rain. He rushed towards the mitra girl.

He reached out to the girl's shoulder with his free hand. But the moment his hand touched her and the girl turned around, his heart throbbed.

'M-Mister David?' she said. The angelic face of a teen girl showed quite a shock. It was Irina Sykes.

'Uh… Irina…? What are you doing in this place?' David tried to hide his surprise as well and spoke with his casual coolness and composure. The flame of hope he had for the previous seconds just went out.

'I-I am waiting for Sheryl, Mister David,' Irina responded. She could never expect that she will meet David here.

'Sheryl, the Cosmos Maiden you spoke of?'

'You are very true, Mister David.'

'So, about how long have you been waiting here?' David was actually quite curious, as to why Irina wore a different attire than she has used to. Right now, she was dressed like a common townsfolk, and that was why he had mistaken her for that girl. She still looked mesmerizing, even with that attire.

'Umm, I don't really know, but I remember seeing one Narwhal flying on the sky.'

The habit of Narwhal, or the rare sky dragons, is to seek food at noon, when the sun is in its highest position at the sky. Usually about two hours later they are heading back to their nests, as the frequency of wind breeze in Fornstrand increases.

'It must have been…'

'Yes, quite a long time ago Mister David,' she answered with her usual cute voice.

'She must have forgotten about the appointment, Irina.' Though the absent-mindedness of Miss Sheryl was obvious, Irina still believed in her. Still, this girl's innocence and naiveté were really quite appealing to him. 'Besides, it is going to get dangerous here, especially in the dark. The one-eyed monsters, manhunters are most likely to appear… Let me escort you back home.'

'I thought that would be so. But please, Mister David, I really want to wait for a little longer,' Irina pleaded.

'Well then, if you say so...' Somehow the charming voice of Irina was so hard to reject, just the same as her high-spirited brother had used to be.

'I don't want to be a bother to you, Mister David. You can go ahead. I believe you have a lot of stuff to take care of. I will be fine with this invincible elixir from the famous scientist we had assisted before. I can go back safely, I am sure of it. And armorshells, I can handle them with a little bit of fighting skills Miss Emmy had taught me. And… it's also thanks to you...' She smiled with her cute-looking face.

Her streak of stubbornness annoyed him a little. But her bravery to come here alone and her strong will to stay just reminded him of her brother, Rush.

'Then... I guess you left me with not many options...' He smirked and then sighed on the inside. He could not make her do things as he wished. Although he was the Lord of Athlum, he did not have much authority upon the Sykes siblings.

'But Mister David...'

'Irina, I have already given my word to keep you safe to your mother and I will keep my promise.' Beside that he could not let a girl like her to be left unprotected though he knew that Irina possessed unpredictable power, still with no remnant there would be useless.

They fell into silence, immersed in beautiful view of the glimmering lights on the water surface and vast blue sky before them. Among the sound of waves, Irina finally raised her voice.

'Mister David…' she paused. David saw a bitter smile on her face for a few seconds before she turned her gaze up to the sky. 'Today is my brother's birthday.'

_Rush's birthday? _David looked at Irina. She had already seated herself on one of the rocks there. Her hands held one purple aster, which raised curiosity in David's heart. Why does she love those purple asters so much?

'I know it sounds strange, Mister David, since he is a remnant. But Mom and Dad usually celebrated his birthday on this day. We were...' Irina fell silent as if she could not cope with the grief she felt and it was way too painful for her to reminisce. 'Lately, I had been dreaming about him a lot. In my dreams he had said he will come back.'

She dropped the purple aster. The sea captured it and the wave carried the flower away. 'Happy birthday, Rush,' she whispered.

David walked closer to Irina and sat beside her. He knew her grief, he knew too well the pain of losing someone, but still he just could not find any words to say to her. Her delicate figure now seemed so vulnerable. A tender feeling arose in him. Now he understood how Rush had felt about his sister. He wanted to protect her more than just because he was obliged to do it.

'Mister David... It may sound more than a little out of sense, but... Somehow I know he will back. I know he will.'

'Irina... '

'I have to do something. Mister David, I know, and you know that there is a way to revive him, right?'

_If there was something like that, he definitely would..._ Suddenly he thought of Emma, the girl from his childhood, his father, his mother… _It sounds too good to be true, right? Reviving dead people_. It had never crossed his mind. The ancient folktales, telling the stories about reviving the lost ones usually end badly, with the one who was revived being turned evil or the person who tried to bring back their lost one coming back insane. Too much horror was wrapped around those tales and death is definitely one giant mystery, as well as a certainty for those who live. There was almost nothing he could do but to accept it. Too much risk trying such things. But this girl with her appealing faith, how could he break her hopes?

'Well, there are... ways. But I am not quite sure myself.'

'Mister David, perhaps you might have missed the story of our fellow fighters back then?'

'Fellow fighters?'

'Yes, our fellow fighter, Rhagoh and his twin sister, Kate,' she responded.

Rhagoh, yes, he remembered him. He had heard that Rush was travelling with him to Robelia castle, to find his supposedly dead twin sister, Kate.

'Do you plan on going to Robelia?'

Irina nodded.

'That is why I asked Sheryl, she is the closest person I can contact right now. As a beautiful Cosmos Maiden she is quite famous, people were talking about seeing her going out with Rhagoh; that is what I heard. I need to see Rhagoh to get the key to the Underground Tier.'

'I see…' replied David. Obviously Marina and John Sykes' cleverness had been passed on Irina. She must have been thinking thoroughly about this. 'But, who'll take you there?'

'I have not decided that myself yet, Mister David. All I need now is to collect as much information as I can,' she gave him a _would-you-come-with-me _look.

David sighed. It would take time. Could he leave Athlum for that long? Considering the city's condition now, it seemed impossible for him to leave her when there was no guarantee that things were under control.

'Unfortunately, I am afraid that we have some problems in Athlum now, Irina.' David recognized the change in Irina's face; she looked worried.

'Has something worse happened, Mister David?'

Strangely enough, all the things that were occupying his head - his fear, his worry for Athlum and his insecurity - just escaped his mouth, with no resistance nor awkwardness that he usually felt when he was talking about his inner feelings to others. But with those attentive eyes of Irina, the words flowed smoothly, just like when he was with Rush or with his childhood girl-friend. Now the burden on his shoulders got somehow lighter.

'My apologies, Irina. I...' He felt ashamed that he was being so grumpy.

'Uh, you don't have to, Mister David. I am glad if I can be of any help,' she smiled. 'Anyway, Mister David, I believe that nothing bad can happen to Athlum, if you're in charge,' she said. 'You had brought independence to Athlum so far.'

_Nothing bad can happen to Athlum, if you're in charge_. That very words of her touched his heart. Like a freshness of rejuvenating water in the middle of the burning heat of the Great Sand Sea. The words that his childhood girl-friend had also said. Those words were exactly the same words he had longed to hear. He had really longed to hear.

'I wish that is so, too,' David responded. He saw the same gleam of his childhood girl-friend in Irina's eyes in an instant. A reassurance. He realized that even though the burden of leadership was on his shoulders, he wasn't really struggling alone, making decisions and defending Athlum. He had people beside him whom he could always count on; some of them were his Generals. Torgal, his trusted person, who managed everything so neat and smooth and had always cleaned up David's mess whenever he made one. Pagus with his brilliance, who could provide all information needed. Blocter, the Yama fighter most skilled in tactics and combat in Athlum. Emmy, who had already showed that her loyalty to Athlum can only be compared with her mother's, the famous General Emma, who had sacrificed herself to defend Athlum.

'M-mister David? Haven't you stared long enough?' Irina blushed and seemed to be trying to hide her face elsewhere.

'Uh, nnn, had I? Oh my apologies...' He was distracted. It was clear that he was lost in her eyes.

'Anyway, you are right, Irina.' He tightened his grip on his rapier. 'I am coming with you.'

'But what about Athlum?'

'I figured it out. I need some help, I will be asking for joint forces from our fellow friends. They sure want to help, if it's about reviving Rush. After that, perhaps I will be able to ask them for some help for Athlum too. With the strength of our fellow fighters – the Silver Falcons, and the others, it will be a lot easier,' he winked.

'A warrior gathering! Yay! Thank you, Mister David!' Irina exclaimed happily. Her eyes were gleaming.

_A reunion, wouldn't it be nice?_

'About armors for Athlumian soldiers, why don't we go ask Gabriel from Celapaleis? He sells swords, doesn't he? I know Rush came to him once when he was looking for finest sword. I wonder if he could give us a discount or perhaps something for credit?' She suggested enthusiastically.

'That would do for sure,' David smiled.  
The sunset in Cape of Delusion could not have been more beautiful. The golden spark of sun rays reflected by the sea, like an awakening hope in their hearts. The warm feeling infiltrating their souls, the colours of water playing trick with their eyes, causing their breath to stop of amazement for the moment.

'Happy birthday, Rush,' David murmured. The image of the full of life young fella crossed his mind. Now that Rush could not be here to protect his sister, there was unspoken pledge in his heart that he would not let anything harm happened to Irina.

'AWWW, see, what we have here! A nice couple, aren't you? Lord David of Athlum and Lady Irina of Nagapur! I bet many ladies and lads would have their heart broken by now!'

While David and Irina were both amazed by the sunset view in Fornstrand, the sudden appearance of the blonde Cosmos Maiden surprised them.

'I-it's not what you think... We...' David stammered. Somehow it felt as if he was caught red-handed by Emma or Torgal from skipping his duties. 'I believe you have been misguided.'

'Hee-hee, you should see the look on your face. It was priceless!' teased Sheryl.

'Sheryl!' Irina shouted. 'What took you so long? I have been waiting for you! And where is Rhagoh? You were supposed to bring him.'

David felt relief somehow.

'About that, err... I was about to decorate my room and decided to get some flowers. I collected lots of pretty lilies and daisies. O beautiful daisies! I was overjoyed to see many of them. Tee-hee,' Sheryl giggled.

_I know that would happened_. David thought.

'I can't believe that time passed so quick before I realized it was late,' Sheryl continued, 'then I headed back to see Rhagoh. I found him in Nordenalm pub, the place we used to meet. "Come with me, I have an important matter to attend to." I said. Without much thinking, I grabbed his hand and dragged him along. However, he freed his hand and shouted, "Stop! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"I was startled, Rhagoh has always been gentle in his manner. Before long, I realized it was Rhagoh's twin sister, Kate. "Get lost! Rhagoh's been doing business and he headed back to Celapaleis," she said."Why didn't he tell me?" I asked. "Listen, I am not his spokesman. Don't get bitching with me. Leave me, the hell, alone!" By that time, I knew it was really late and I rushed here.'

'Wait, Sheryl, what do you mean by "Lady Irina of Nagapur"?' David interrupted.

'Huh? You sure missed a lot of news, Lord David,' Sheryl gave him a look of disbelief.

'It must be quite surprising for you, as it was for me, Mister David. The ceremony of me being titled "Lady of Nagapur" was not officially announced yet. Only few people know about it, Miss Sheryl's one of them, since she is the Cosmos Maiden and will be taking part in preparing the ceremony. It was kept secret in order not to make the political stability of Nagapur worse. I believe the ceremony will be held in the coming week,' Irina began to explain. 'As you know, since Duke Wilfred Hermeien's gone, who was actually my own uncle, and my grandpa now rules the Nagapur back, Mom was supposed to be the Duchess of Nagapur. However, Mom refused to stay in the castle, or to be titled Lady Marina. She chose to continue doing researches in Academy and help Dad. Researching was the best thing she could do for the sake of the better world, she said. Especially without remnants, the advancement of technology is really needed. Miss Haruko had made a lot of projects. It seems the Academy got busier nowadays. Honestly, I want to help Mom and Dad with their research too. I like doing those stuffs and working with them. But I could not choose that way then.'

'So, you are now Lady Irina of Nagapur...' David understood now why she was dressed differently than she used to. She must have been sneaking out of the castle, leaving visistone messages, just like she did when she headed alone to Darken Forest. That was also her reason to insist on waiting for Sheryl, because the opportunity for her to be able to get out from Wyrmskeep must be really rare. He sighed at the thought of how bad he missed a lot of information. As the Chairman of the Congress, he should not miss such an important issue.

'I am, but officially in the next few days, Mister David,' Irina nodded. 'Anyway, Sheryl, could you feel the Syltique's presence?'

The cosmos maiden closed her eyes and concentrated. She looked to be absorbed in a deep trance. David felt like he just saw something, like light radiating from her skin, adding more brightness to her porcelain skin and even her blonde hair was glowing.

After a moment Sheryl finally opened her eyes and sighed.

'The sunset is sure beautiful, Irina,' Sheryl pointed to the beautiful sparkling light on the surface of the sea. 'And also peaceful. Just like Syltique. But, trust me, it was different, Syltique had been way more beautiful than this one. I am afraid it is not Syltique, dear."

_Syltique?_ It was much to David's surprise when he heard Sheryl mentioning the remnant's name. Syltique was believed to bring peace and keep people from waging wars. It had a form of multiple lights that created one remnant. It used to be activated in Fornstrand during the Kosmofest performed by the Cosmos Maiden. _Could it be that Syltique still exist while other remnants had vanished? _He pondered at the thought.

'B-but I really saw it on the new remnant tracker which my parents made!' Irina said helplessly.

'Uh, I am sorry, I don't mean to doubt you, Irina, nor the device that your parents had made. But I don't feel anything. Before Syltique had used to disappear and reappear at times, but after the cleansing of all the remnants happened, I am afraid it would never reappear,' Sheryl was trying to sound consolingly.

'Maybe we can check it again later, Irina. Perhaps it has already disappeared by chance,' David suggested. 'Before that, we can ask Rhagoh about his sister.'

'Yes, Mister David,' Irina smiled. She tried to not to seem too disappointed. 'Oh, it's getting late, I have to head back to Nagapur before Grandpa gets really worried.'

'Let's not waste any time then,' said David. He turned his back. 'And you don't have to hide there anymore, I know you're there, just come out,' he waved at the rocks some feet away from him.

'Y-yes my Lord,' said a voice behind the rocks.

David approached the rock, while Irina threw Sheryl a questioning look. Sheryl replied with a shrug. She also had not realized that there was someone else hiding there. A yama soldier appeared behind the rock and bowed a little towards David. Sheryl could see that the soldier wore armors with Athlumian symbol.

'General Torgal asked you, didn't he, Lieutenant Agyptus?' Asked David. He knew that his generals would be concerned about his safety.

'Yes, my lord. He did.' There was a little hesitation in his voice.

'Aren't you coming with us, Lord David?' Sheryl asked.

David looked at the two girls and asked Sheryl, 'Could I trust you to escort Lady Irina to Nagapur, Cosmos Maiden? I have a pressing matter to take care of in Athlum.'

'Yes! Of course you could,' she paused and added, 'my Lord,' with a little smirk.

Concerning Irina's combat skill under Emmy's training and Sheryl's mystic power as Cosmos Maiden, David thought they could go back safely.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate's Tale

The grand city of Nagapur turned out not as lively as it used to be. It seemed that the Gwayn debacle which had cost townsfolk their properties, homes and even families left the city with a huge scar. Some people chose to move out, but there were also people who were loyal and desperate enough to stay. Even though some buildings were in ruin, still, the trace of the metropolis beauty of Nagapur could be seen. The water in the fountain reflected the city lights and the grand, sturdy bridge of Nordenalm above the canal, where people stood to see boats passing by with their cargo or some traders, knights and adventurers on board. The red and blue flags with the symbol of Nagapur - the gallant golden phoenix - decorated sides of bridges. The city still stood with pride.

That evening Rhagoh walked the street in Nordenalm, the famous marketplace in Nagapur, down to the Drachenhauch Pub. He brought some food, tamales with abaddon fillings, which he got from the nearby café. Tamale is food made of corn starch that was wrapped with leaves, sometimes with a filling inside and an abaddon is a slimy frog-like monster, which lives in swamp of Heroic ramparts.

The mitra bartender greeted him friendly as he opened the pub door and Rhagoh saw the cheerful smile of the bartender's assistant. Vera, the charming girl, who always wears the latest outfits. They became more accustomed to him as a pub regular here.

'How was your day, Rhagoh?' Asked the bartender while he mixed up one drink and gave it to a qsiti customers on the bar stool.

'Quite the same as usual, Oliver,' Rhagoh reciprocated the bartender's friendly smile.

'I know that fighting is not your thing, really,' Oliver winked. Now he wiped the glass with dry cloth.

'You know me well,' he laughed dryly. 'But I need it to make a living. By the way, did you happen to see my sister, Kate?'

'Yes, I believe that she is still up there. Oh you twins are really inseparable, aren't you?' Oliver pointed towards the second floor.

'Thank you,' Rhagoh hurriedly stepped up the stairs. As he reached the second floor, he saw Kate sitting in their favourite spot. She seemed to be having a chat with a noble-looking yama.

'Hey Kate, look, I brought you some tamales,' Rhagoh showed a cartoon bag full of food.

'Rhagoh? Aren't you supposed to be in Celapaleis by now?' Kate seemed surprised.

'Uh yeah, there was a change of plan by the one who has hired me. Before we had reached Celapaleis, we had some trouble in Heroic Ramparts. There was an unusually strong horde of Jhanas who tried to rob us. One member of the party was injured, a Jhana shaman used some kind of magic spell that paralyzed him. Eventually we won the battle but we had to go back to Nagapur since it would be hard to carry one injured member along,' Rhagoh explained.

'Whoa, you two… are twins?' The yama looked amazed at how similar Rhagoh and Kate looked alike. 'Anyway, would you mind, we have an important business to deal with,' he added, displeased with Rhagoh interruption.

'Rhagoh, move your ass out of here,' Kate made a hand gesture to send her brother away. 'I am sorry, Sir. I'll go back to business—do you need a skilled warrior to accompany you to Royotia?' she went on.

'Can I really handle the matter to you?' The yama's look of disbelief was clearly visible. He looked at Kate and then studied Rhagoh a while. Finally the frail looking Rhagoh and his story made him hesitate. 'After what I've heard just now…'

'Oh, please, Sir. Do you need any proof? I can display some of my skills to convince you,' Kate snorted.

'No need of it. His story was convincing enough. Oh this is a waste of my time,' the yama muttered. He stood and made his way out.

'Sir please, wait! Y-you should see what I can do—' Kate tried to catch up with the yama, but she was stopped by a qsiti, who had actually been listening to their conversation from the nearby table.

'Miss, please step back. He had already said no.' It was one of the mercenaries from the Golden Chalice Guild in Nagapur. 'It is our turn to offer him our service.'

'WHAT DID YOU SAY? YOU ARE THE ONE WHO SHOULD STEP BACK!' Kate yelled. She drew her weapon. 'And yeah, Sir. This will be a good chance to show you my skills. Watch!''

The loud noise made Oliver hurriedly ran upstairs. He had barely been making profit during these days and broken chairs or tables would be so much of a burden.

'Kate, stop, please,' Rhagoh held Kate back. 'Forgive us. We don't want to fight,' he intercepted the situation that had already been heating up.

'That's good. We have no time for you either,' the qsiti snorted. Within minutes the warrior qsiti and the noble looking yama had left the pub. They seemed to go straight to the guild to discuss the negotiation, followed by the sigh of relief of Oliver.

'See! We just lost our prospective customer. It's all because of you. Oh my big catch!' Kate reviled.

'I am sorry Kate…' Rhagoh's voice was filled with guilt.

Kate gave a deep sigh. 'Where are that tamales you brought? I am so damn hungry.' She had heard her stomach growling a few times.

'Here is the tamale, with abaddon meat fillings. I captured some abaddons in Heroic ramparts and sold it to the chef in Café Riverside Shop. He also gave me some of these, special recipe he said,' Rhagoh handed them to Kate. 'I hope you'll like them.'

'Eew, I know he meant es-special-ly disgusting recipe,' she made a small comment after her first chew though Rhagoh seemed not to hear it. It was one of the dishes she would have avoided if she had a choice. But, now she had to eat it or end up starving. The slimy and rather smelly abaddon flesh would make a normal person throw up. She thought it was better not to imagine that frog-like monster, especially while she had to wolf down tamales with abaddon fillings. 'Anyway, Rhagoh, how about the payment from the man who had hired you?'

'About that err—'

'Oh… not again Rhagoh. I wonder whether you're really an idiot or just luck doesn't like to come near you,' Kate mumbled. It was pointless to get mad at Rhagoh again and again. She didn't have the mood yet to lecture him either. 'So, will you go to Celapaleis again?'

'Perhaps not, that man decided that he will go to Celapaleis after his injured fellow is healed. I am afraid that will take quite some time.'

'I see. Actually I want to go there, to our guild, it has been quite a long time.' Suddenly Kate remembered that Sheryl had been looking for Rhagoh. 'Today the air-headed, blondie was looking for you. She said she had an important matter or something.'

'Really? What did she say?' Rhagoh responded enthusiastically, 'Anyway, Kate, please stop saying she is airheaded, she is just easily distracted by things, since she always looks at everything in wonder like a little kid. Isn't it cute?'

Somehow, the unusual cheerful sound in Rhagoh's voice and the way he defended Sheryl irritated Kate. 'I dunno what she was up to. She dragged me out and thought I was you. I said to her that you went to Celapaleis.'

Again Kate could see Rhagoh's worried face. It used to be only the two of them, ever since their parents had passed away when they were still kids. They only had each other to keep on living, earning money by offering help at the guild. The hard life had taught them not to trust anyone else. The bond between them was unexplainable. Kate just couldn't tell what was so disturbing about the presence of Sheryl or when Sheryl and her brother started looking at each other. Now she could not believe that he was the same Rhagoh, who had used to bring animaquies to her grave.

'I need to find Sheryl, is she alright now? You know how easily she gets lost,' Rhagoh looked troubled.

_Oh no, not that girl again._ _Sheryl, Sheryl and Sheryl._

'WHATEVER!' She roared.

Right now the worried look on his face made her feel that there was something tearing her apart deep down inside her. She was hurt. _What was that? What is this pain I felt in my chest? Am I being jealous? __This is stupid, my brother and that stupid girl. _She could not understand her emotions, and that made her afraid and desperate. The gloominess swallowed her down. She stood up and left the pub hastily.

'Kate, Kate…! Wait! Are you still mad at me? I said I am sorry. Please, don't be angry!' Rhagoh pleaded. 'C'mon, it's been a tough day for me. Forgive me. 'Kay? Kate… Hey, Kate!'

But Rhagoh's words just fell on deaf ears. Kate had already run off. He tried to stop her but Kate slammed the pub's door right in front of his face. Rhagoh gave a deep sigh.

'She's kinda crazy, eh?' Oliver cheered him up in sympathy. 'I bet she will not be gone for long, boy.'

'Hope so, thanks Oliver,' Rhagoh smiled bitterly. He left the Drachenhauch pub. The thought of Sheryl came across his head and he wondered what she was up to.

Rhagoh ran along the Nordenalm street. Kate must have gone back to their rented house, that place was the first thing he could come up with. In the dim city lights, he saw two people walking across the Nordenalm bridge one of them was a figure he knew so well.

'Sheryl!' Rhagoh exclaimed happily.

'Rhagoh!' She ran towards him, looking so excited as if they had not seen each other for years. 'I really wanted to see you!' Just in the blink of an eye, she had already jumped and gave him a big hug. They kissed. The show of their affection in public was enough to make Irina ashamed and feel that she was a non-existent being or something.

'Hee-hee, Irina, we got him,' finally, after a long while, Sheryl exclaimed cheerfully, dragging Rhagoh to Irina.

Irina sighed deeply in relief, she had already thought that Sheryl had forgotten what she came here to do and if she had stood there a little longer, people would have mistaken her for a decorative statue of Nordenalm Bridge, before realizing that she was their future Lady of Nagapur. She had carefully stayed away from the lights so no one could see her face.

'I need your help, Rhagoh. I want to bring Rush back,' Irina said directly.

'Rush…' The boy was struck dumb by Irina's sudden request.

'So, you will help, won't you?' Sheryl used her sweetest tone and Irina could swear that if she was a boy, it would be hard to say no.

'Err, I am not sure that I could be of any help, Sheryl, but I will do the best I can,' Rhagoh stuttered. 'Shall we talk about it at my place?''

* * *

The door creaked as Rhagoh had opened it. The rented house where he and Kate lived was just a small, two storey wooden house, almost like an abandoned one - which perhaps had been left by its owner after the Gwayn debacle. The three of them entered the living room. There were six chairs and a round wooden table inside.

'Please wait, I will check on Kate. She seemed so mad just then,' said Rhagoh.

'Kate?' Sheryl's voice was teeming with curiosity. 'What happened to her?'

'I don't know. She just ran off, mad. It seemed like she was angry with me.'

'Let me talk to her.' Sheryl offered, putting her hand on Rhagoh's shoulder. 'Irina needs you here. She has to get back to the castle soon.'

Rhagoh hesitated.

'Would that be fine?' Rhagoh asked after a moment.

'It's alright.' Sheryl winked confidently, 'So, where is she?'

'Perhaps she is in her room, upstairs. I hope she's alright,' Rhagoh looked up towards the second floor.

'Okay, I'll go see her.' Sheryl took her way upstairs.

Rhagoh turned his gaze to Irina, 'Well then, Irina, I beg your pardon, my place is perhaps not so comfortable, but please sit down,' he pulled a chair in a gesture to let her sit.

'I will be glad if I can be of any use to you. What exactly do you want me to do?' Rhagoh said patiently. He knew that she had loved her brother as much as he loved Kate, that she would risk everything to revive him as he had done for Kate.

'I have been seeing Rush recently. Though I am unable to remember exactly what he has said. It's something like… he wanted to come back. But I couldn't even know if it was a dream or not and also whether he was real or not,' Irina muttered. 'Rhagoh, you were able to bring your twin back, after she had died. You must know something about it, right?'

'About that, uhm, I used to be seeing Kate after she died. She talked to me and looked so real. I assumed those were dreams. The dreams were more intense, though, especially before I have decided to bring her back. I thought I was insane since I had a bad headache whenever I had dreams of her. I kept telling myself that Kate had died on the accident. I thought it's just part of me blaming myself on the inside for not being able to save her,' said Rhagoh.

'You saw your sister? Those weren't dreams, right?' Irina sounded elated. She needed to clarify whether she had seen Rush in dreams or not. She realised that bad headache had also accompanied her whenever she saw him.

'I guess it was more than a dream.' Rhagoh said solemnly as he collected his thought. 'Actually, later on we talked about this. After a rough time, when she just got revived back, she seemed to have lost herself. She was so temperamental and we fought often. Later she had done some thinking and decided to tell me. She said that time that she had spoken to me both in my dreams and while I was awake,' Rhagoh nodded. 'I am sorry, Irina, are you really sure that you weren't dreaming?'

'I… uh, I don't know,' said Irina. 'I am not really sure. It's just so hard to differentiate whether I was conscious or not. What I can remember is that I was having this image of Rush saying that he wanted to come back.'

'Uh, I see. I think I can relate. I completely understand how you feel about Rush,' said Rhagoh. 'Though in my dreams Kate has told me to forget about her, somehow, the more she appeared the more I missed her and wanted her back.' Rhagoh made a mirthless smile.

'Every year I brought special flowers, animaquies, to Kate's grave on the anniversary of her death. An elderly guy had always helped me fetch the flowers. Until one time, when he didn't appear as usual. I asked Rush to help me find the guy, and it turned out that the man had died. Later, your brother gave me a letter which he took from the corpse of the man. It mentioned "stone goddess". I asked around and figured out there was a rumour about a stone goddess deep in the Robelia Ruins. According to the rumour, there's a locked room where you can meet the goddess. She can bring you together with the one of your choice. Then I remembered the key given to me by the old man once. I thought that might be the key to unlocking that room. Again, I asked Rush and he agreed to help me. And, as you see, it has worked.'

'Did you see the goddess?'

'No. It's also different from what I had expected too. As we entered the statue room, there was only a mirror.' Rhagoh stopped as he tried to remember a name, 'Flâchonelle. A remnant, Flâchonelle.'

* * *

For a few years Kate had lost the sense of being herself. Although at one point she had been sure that she had already died, still she could roam in the same world that Rhagoh was in. He had been thinking of her and somehow his mourning gave her the power to exist in his world. She knew everything about Rhagoh, how alone he had felt without her during the time he had spent looking for her. Basically she had lost her life but she had still been floating around, stuck in his world. She had not lived but existed. She didn't know who she had been anymore as if she had been just Rhagoh's vision of his Kate, the summation of his perceptions since the only string connecting her to the world was Rhagoh and his thoughts. It had been so torturing. She had wished him to stop thinking of her, it had been painful to see him so sad and blaming himself for her death. She couldn't help but crying remembering those times.

Now it was hard to bear that Rhagoh was thinking about someone else than her. For the time being it had been his feelings that kept her existing, the fear of him not caring about her so much anymore made her feel threatened.

_Knock, knock._

'WHAT IS IT?' Kate hissed. She thought it was Rhagoh.

'Can I come in?'

Sheryl's voice shocked Kate. 'WHO ARE YOU?' She didn't want to see anyone, and especially let anyone see her crying.

'Sheryl's here. I could cheer you up, let me in, Kate.' Sheryl tried to push the door open.

'WHAT? Cheer me up? You gotta be kidding,' Kate held the door closed from the other side and locked it up. 'Get the hell out of here, I hate you!' _How could I let you in and see me cry?_

'Kate…' Sheryl voice began to falter.

'Just disappear, you useless airheaded Cosmos maiden! I don't want to see you!' She snapped.

Kate could hear Sheryl sobbing from the outside her room.

'No… no one has ever called me like that. It's first time someone has yelled to me like that. I-it made me so sad that I am about to cry…' Sheryl burst into tears.

'You're crying. It's not my problem,' said Kate. _What am I supposed to do? Isn't me the one who wanted to cry?_

Despite the despair she felt, Kate tried to stop her tears from falling but she couldn't help hearing Sheryl's hiccups between her sobs.

Somehow Sheryl's hiccups reminded Kate of her childhood. Rhagoh had been really weak when he was a kid. He had used to be bullied by other children. One day he came to her badly beaten up, and helplessly sobbing and hiccupping. From then on, she had sworn that she would always protect him. She had always been his big sister. It had been touching the deepest emotions of her, like her second nature; she would hold him and calm him down. She could never stand to hear him sobbing. Nor she could stand anyone's crying. Gradually she began to take pity on Sheryl.

Eventually Kate could not stand it anymore and she yelled, 'Okay, stop crying! I think I can let you in.' She unlocked the door.

'Really? Thank you, Kate.'

Kate could see tears on Sheryl's face though she had stopped crying.

'Look here, Kate,' Sheryl pulled a small mirror out of her pocket. 'You look so beautiful when you're smiling.'

'What a fool,' Kate said. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror. She forgot how long had it been for her to not look into mirrors. After the accident that had trapped her in the weird dimension, she realized she couldn't stand to see her own reflection every time she faced mirrors. But now, it was different. Her reflection in the mirror has just convinced her of how real she was. No, she wasn't Rhagoh's vision, she was real in flesh. She had her own life. She was really alive. She remembered the mirror-shaped remnant which brought her back. That realisation made her smile.

'How is that? Feeling any better?' Sheryl asked.

Kate snorted. The blonde girl laughed.

In the room below, while Rhagoh was telling his story, Irina's stomach growled. It was loud enough for Rhagoh to hear. She awkwardly bit her lips. She had not eaten anything since she went to Fornstrand and waited for Sheryl.

'Ah, my apologies, there isn't much food here. But, I have some tamales, if you'd like to. Please have some,' Rhagoh put the food on a plate and offered it to Irina.

After saying thanks, Irina took one tamale. She recognized that the food tasted a little bit weird. 'Rhagoh, I wonder, what is inside?'

'It's abaddon's flesh, Irina,' said Rhagoh.

_What?_ Irina covered her mouth with her hand, since she had already eaten one tamale. Imagining the frog-like monster disgusted her. She couldn't believe that they made those monsters as into food.

'Hey, Rhagoh, what food did you give to our guest?' Kate shouted from upstairs.

'Oh, it's tamales.' Rhagoh replied.

'You fool. You really have bad taste for food. Or perhaps, one of the Jhana's spell has gotten into your head so that you think abaddons are delicious.'

'My fellow squadmate once said it was delicious, Kate.'

'That's the one who had been knocked down back then, hmm? He got brain damage obviously,' Kate mumbled.

Sheryl brought Irina a glass of water. 'This will make you feel better,' she said as she offered it to Irina, who looked really grateful.

'Hmm, I wonder whether that yama fellow tricked me...' Rhagoh muttered.

'Don't worry about it, dear. You just have to remember that mitra's and yama's food preference might be different.' Sheryl sighed.

Once she finished the glass, Irina turned to Kate, 'Excuse me, Kate?'

Kate looked at Irina coldly, 'Huh, what are you up to? You look like you just saw a ghost!'

'I, uhm,' Irina stuttered. 'I wondered. Would you tell me how it was possible for you to come back alive?' Finally she blurted out her question to Kate.

Kate fidgeted at the question. It got on her nerves. 'You have no right to ask that of me.'

'Kate, don't you remember that it was Rush who helped us back then?' Rhagoh grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving.

'I am sorry to ask such a question of you,' Irina said apologetically, regretting that she could not hold the urge to ask Kate directly. 'I imagine this must be really hard on you. It must have been horrible, all the things you went through…' she paused, cleared her throat and looked at Kate with a plea in her eyes. 'Please, Kate. I want to bring Rush back. Please, tell me what you know, everything that had happened in Robelia castle, it is the only thing that can help me bring him back. You are my only hope.'

Kate took a deep breath, collected herself and sat down, 'Well, I can't guarantee that I can recall everything. It seemed that after the accident, I had believed I was dead, but actually my soul has been trapped somewhere in a strange dimension.' She looked away. 'I don't know, but normal people couldn't see me. I didn't have a physical body. Rush could see and talk to me though.'

'Rush was a remnant, right?' Sheryl jumped in.

Irina gave a slight nod. Then she quickly turned to Kate, 'So do you think your soul was trapped in that dimension?'

'Do I have to tell you twice?' Kate replied impatiently. 'My soul had been bounded to a remnant.'

'Don't tell me that the nice elderly guy, who had helped me fetch the flowers was the one who did it,' Rhagoh gasped in disbelief.

Kate pouted. 'I fell prey to his experiment as a part of his curiosity.'

'I am sorry to hear that, Kate.' Irina said thoughtfully. 'It's strange, usually a remnant is bound to a person.'

'I know, it's hard for me to explain too,' Kate sighed. 'Trying to recall everything when I was in that 'soul state' is like trying to recall what kind of dreams you had two days ago, a week ago or even a month ago. It's a pain.'

'You mean you feel your experience in the soul state is just like dreaming?' Sheryl was confused.

'Damn it. I was not dreaming, I died, physically.' Kate sulked.

'Pardon me, what you are trying to say is that when you got into your body again, you couldn't remember the details exactly, as if you just woke up from a dream and it is hard to recall everything?' Irina straightened out.

Rhagoh's twin sighed but finally nodded in approval. 'I realized that I have been "dead" for years but it seems that things had happened just yesterday and I could only remember the major events or things that really mattered to me.'

'So, did you experience losing the sense of time?' asked Irina.

Kate eyebrows furrowed.

'Days turn into nights and so on, but we can't distinguish how many days have passed.' Irina explained.

'Well, if you put it that way, that might be it,' said Kate.

'See, the experience is exactly like when you are dreaming. We can experience a week-long journey when we are sleeping even for one hour, and even though we have slept for hours, it's just like some minutes of dreaming experience.' Sheryl whispered to Rhagoh.

Kate sank into a deep thought. 'Since I was just a soul and had no physical body, I floated like a flow of energy. I could shift fast from place to place without physical hindrance, but I was limited by life force.' She continued.

'Now, Kate, mind if I ask you, what kind of experiment had the guy, who made you trapped into such condition, actually done?' asked Irina.

'He wanted to reverse the way remnants work. Like you know, remnants could be bound by a man and they will absorb the life force of the man. He said if he could reverse it, instead of shortening the lifespan of the man, he could lengthen it.'

'Then, how much you know about how it works?'

'As you see, he didn't really succeed in his theory. I lost my physical form though my soul being bounded to the remnant, Flâchonelle. The guy bounded the remnant, therefore I got my life force from him indirectly and from Darken Forest.'

Irina recalled that in the Darken Forest where the Conqueror took her one time, the mystic energy was just overflowing. That was why Kate's soul could absorb it.

'So, it made your existence stronger,' Irina concluded. 'Is there anything else?'

Kate looked to Rhagoh who was scratching his head, 'Apart from that, I think a remnant with a soul like mine bounded to it, could be attracted to other people's energy – like their thoughts and emotions… under some conditions, of course."

'I have never heard about that, what kind of conditions do you mean?' Irina inquired.

'Everytime Rhagoh had thought about me, it had created some kind of magnetic waves that could have reached me.' Kate voice was softened a little.

'Having no physical hindrance, you could quickly sense the waves, his thoughts.' Irina murmured.

'I could not stand to see him weeping for me over and over again. Because of that, I tried to approach him, sort of… synchronise with him so he could sense me and even see me.'

'It is easier to be done when the person is sleeping, since his five senses are not as active as when he is awake. I think his sixth sense is more sensitive to stimulation. Also, the close bond between you and Rhagoh, perhaps, was the thing that could make it possible for you to reach him,' Irina explained. 'Kate, I wonder how much energy you needed to travel to places other than Darken Forest?'

Kate was stunned at Irina's question. 'Hard to tell...,' she paused. 'What I can tell you is that when I was out of life force, my existence in this world seemed weakened. And soon I would be transferred to that..,'

Irina waited curiously seeing Kate was lost in her thoughts again. Both Sheryl and Rhagoh nervously threw a glance at Irina as the question seemed to pull Kate back to death world. Eventually Irina almost jumped happily from her chair when she noticed Kate was starting to say something.

'Remnant world. I guess that's what I should call the place or whatever it is,' said Kate. 'Don't ask me what kind of world it was. I have a very vague memory about it. Trying to recall it make my head ache,' she frowned.

'So, you have been going to and fro between the remnant world and our world?'

'Yeah.'

'Is there a possibility that Rush is not dead, but he just stays in remnant world now?' Irina wondered. There was a delight in her tone.

'Maybe,' Kate shrugged.


End file.
